United Kingdom Independence Party

The United Kingdom Independence Party, commonly known as UKIP (pronounced "yoo-kip"), is a right-wing political party campaigning for British withdrawal from the European Union.

The current party leader is Roger Knapman, MEP for South West England. In the 1990s, Knapman was a Conservative MP and whip, who lost his seat in the 1997 elections. In the most recent European Parliament elections, the party's profile was raised substantially in April and May 2004 by the surprise candidacy of former Labour Party MP and chat show host Robert Kilroy-Silk.